Victoria, by the grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Queen, Defender of the Faith:

To our right trusty and well-beloved Councillor Robert Monsey Baron Cranworth; our right trusty and well-beloved Richard Monckton Baron Houghton; our right trusty and well-beloved Councillor Sir Hugh Mc(almont Cairns, knight, a judge of the court of appeal in chancery; our rght trusty and well-beloved Councillor Stephen Lushington, doctor of evil law, judge of the high court of admiralty; our right trusty and vell-beloved Councillor Sir William Erle, knight; our trusty and wellbeloved Sir George William Wilshere Bramwell, knight, one of the barons of the court of exchequer; our trusty and well-beloved Sir Robert Joseph Phillimore, knight, doctor of civil law, our advocate general; our trusty and well-beloved Sir Roundell Palmer, knight; our trusty and well-beloved Travers Twiss, doctor of civil law; our trusty and will-beloved William George Granville Venables Vernon Harcourt, esquire, one of our counsel learned in the law; our trusty and well-beloved Thomas Baring, esquire; our trusty and well-beloved William Henry Gregory, esquire, and our trusty and well-beloved William Edvard Forster, esquire, greeting:

Whereas we have deemed it expedient that a commission should forthwith issue to inquire into and consider the character, working, and effect of the laws of this realm, available for the enforcement of neutrality durng the existence of hostilities between other states with whom we are at peace; and to inquire and report whether any and what changes ought to be made in such laws for the purpose of giving to them increased efficiency and bringing them into full conformity with our international obligations.

Now know ye, that we, reposing great trust and confidence in your knovledge and ability, have authorized and appointed, and do by these presents authorize and appoint you the said Robert Monsey Baron Cratworth, Richard Monckton Baron Houghton, Sir Hugh McCalmont Cairs, Stephen Lushington, Sir William Erle, Sir George William Wilshere Bramwell, Sir Robert Joseph Phillimore, Sir Roundell Palmer, Travers Twiss, William George Granville Venable Vernon Harcourt, Thomas Baring, William Henry Gregory, and William Edward Forster, to be our commissiouers for the purposes aforesaid.

And for the better effecting the purposes of this our commission, we do by these presents give and grant to you, or any five or more of you, full power and authority to call before you such persons as you shall judge likely to afford you any information upon the subject of this our commission, and also to call for, have access to, and examine all such books, documents, registers, and records as may afford the fullest information. on the subject, and to inquire of and concerning the premises by all other awful ways and means whatsoever.

And we do by these presents will and ordain that this our commission shall continue in full force and virtue, and that you our said commis

sioners, or any five or more of you, may from time to time proceed in the execution thereof, and of every matter and thing therein contained, although the same be not continued from time to time by adjour

ment.

[4] *And we do further ordain that you, or any five or more of you, may have liberty to report your proceedings under this commission from time to time, if you should judge it expedient so to do.

And our further will and pleasure is that you do, with as little delay as possible, report to us under your hands and seals, or under the hands and seals of any five or more of you, your opinion upon the several points herein submitted for your consideration.

And for your assistance in the due execution of this our commission, we have made choice of our trusty and well-beloved Francis Phipps Onslow, esquire, barrister at law, to be secretary to this our commission, and to attend you, whose services and assistance we require you to use from time to time as occasion may require.

Given at our Court at St. James's, the thirtieth day of January, 1867, in the thirtieth year of our reign.

By Her Majesty's command.

S. H. WALPOLE.

To the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty :

We, your Majesty's commissioners, appointed "to inquire into and consider the character, working, and effect of the laws of this realm available for the enforcement of neutrality during the existence of hostilities between other states with whom Your Majesty is at peace, and to inquire and report whether any and what changes ought to be made in such laws for the purpose of giving to them increased efficiency and bringing them into full conformity with Your Majesty's international obligations," have now to state to Your Majesty that we have held twenty-four meetings, and having inquired into and considered the subject so referred to us, have agreed to the following report:

The statute now available for the enforcement of neutrality during the existence of hostilities between states with whom Your Majesty is at peace is the 59 Geo. III, c. 69, commonly called the "foreign-enlistment act." The title of that act is, "An act to prevent the enlisting or engagement of His Majesty's subjects to serve in foreign service, and the fitting out or equipping in His Majesty's dominions vessels for warlike purposes without His Majesty's license." And the preamble runs thus: "Whereas the enlistment or engagement of His Majesty's subjects to serve in war in foreign service without His Majesty's license, and the fitting out and equipping and arming of vessels by His Majesty's subjects without His Majesty's license for warlike operations in or against the dominions or territories of any foreign prince, state, potentate, or persons exercising or assuming to exercise the powers of government in or over any foreign country, colony, province, or part of any province, or against the ships, goods, or merchandise of any foreign prince, state, potentate, or persons as aforesaid, or other subjects, may be prejudicial to and tend to endanger the peace and welfare of this kingdom: And whereas the laws in force are not sufficiently effectual for preventing the same."

This, then, being the statute directly available in this country for the enforcement of neutrality, our duty has been to inquire and report whether it is susceptible of any and what amendments, and we are of opinion that it might be made more efficient by the enactment of provisions founded upon the following resolutions:

I. That it is expedient to amend the foreign-enlistment act by adding to its provisions a prohibition against the preparing or fitting out in any part of Her Majesty's dominions of any naval or military expedition to proceed from thence against the territory or dominions of any foreign state with whom Her Majesty shall not then be at war.

II. That the first paragraph of section 7 of the foreign-enlistment act should be amended to the following effect:

If any person shall within the limits of Her Majesty's dominions(a.) Fit out, arm, dispatch, or cause to be dispatched, any ship with

intent or knowledge that the same shall or will be employed in the military or naval service of any foreign power in any war then being waged by such power against the subjects or property of any foreign belligerent power with whom Her Majesty shall not then be at war;

(b.) Or shall within Her Majesty's dominions build or equip any ship with the intent that the same shall, after being fitted out and armed either within or beyond Her Majesty's dominions, be employed as aforesaid;

(c.) Or shall commence or attempt to do, or shall aid in doing, any of the acts aforesaid, every person so offending shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor.

[6] *III. That in order to enable the executive government more effectually to restrain and prevent attempted offenses against section 7 of the foreign-enlistment act, additional provisions, to the following effect, should be inserted in the statute:

(a.) That if a secretary of state shall be satisfied that there is a reasonable and probable cause for believing that a ship which is within the limits of Her Majesty's dominions has been or is being built, equipped, fitted out, or armed contrary to the enactment, and is about to be taken beyond the limits, or that the ship is about to be dispatched contrary to the enactment, such secretary of state shall have power to issue a warrant stating that there is such a reasonable and probable cause for believing as above, aforesaid, and upon such warrant the commissioners of customs, or any other person or persons named in the warrant, shall have power to arrest and search such ship, and to detain the same until it shall be either condemned or released by process of law, or in manner hereinafter mentioned.

(b.) That the power hereinbefore given to a secretary of state may, in parts of Her Majesty's dominions beyond the seas, be exercised by the governor or other person having chief authority.

(c.) That power be given to the owner of the ship or his agent to apply to the court of admiralty of the place where the ship is detained, or, if there be no such court there, to the nearest court of admiralty for its release.

(d.) That the court shall put the matter of such detention in course of trial between the applicant and the Crown, with usual admiralty appeal to the privy council.

(e.) That if the owner shall establish to the satisfaction of the court that the ship was not and is not being built, equipped, fitted out, or armed, or intended to be dispatched, contrary to the enactment, the ship shall be released and restored.

(f.) That if the owner shall fail to establish to the satisfaction of the court that the ship was not, and is not being, built, equipped, fitted out, or armed, or intended to be dispatched, contrary to the enactment, then the ship shall be detained till released by order of the secretary of state; nevertheless the court may, if it shall think fit, order its release, provided the owner shall give security to the satisfaction of the court that the ship shall not be employed contrary to the enactment, and provided that no proceedings are pending for its condemnation.

(g.) That if the court should be of opinion that there was not reasonable and probable cause for the detention, and if no such cause shall appear in the course of the proceedings, the court shall have power to declare that the owner ought to be indemnified by the payment of costs

and damages, which in that case shall be payable out of any moneys legally applicable by the commissioners of the treasury for that pur

pose.

(h.) That any warrant of the secretary of state shall be laid before Parliament.

(i.) That the proceedings herein provided shall not affect the power of the Crown to proceed, if it thinks fit, to the condemnation of the ship.

(k.) That the following exceptions be made from this resolution: 1. Any foreign commissioned ship; 2. Any foreign non-commissioned ship dispatched from this country after having come within it under stress of weather or in the course of a peaceful voyage, and upon which ship no fitting out or equipping of a warlike character shall have taken place in this country.

IV. That it is expedient to make the act of hiring, engaging, or procuring any person within Her Majesty's dominions to go on board any ship, or to embark from any part of Her Majesty's dominions by means of false representations as to the service in which such persons are intended to be employed, with intent on the part of the persons so hiring, engaging, or procuring, as aforesaid, that the person so hired, engaged, or procured, as aforesaid, shall be employed in any land or sea service prohibited by section 2 of the foreign-enlistment act, a misdemeanor punishable, like other misdemeanors, under the same section.

V. That the forms of pleading in informations and indictments under the foreign-enlistment act should be simplified.

VI. That if, during the continuance of any war in which Her Majesty shall be neutral, any prize not being entitled to recognition as a commissioned ship of war shall be brought within the jurisdiction of the Crown by any person acting on behalf of or under the authority of any belligerent government, which prize shall have been captured by any vessel fitted out during the same war for the service of such government, whether as a public or a private vessel of war, in violation of the

laws for the protection of the neutrality of this realm, or if any such (7) prize shall be brought within the jurisdiction, as aforesaid, by any subject of the Crown, or of such belligerent government, having come into possession of such prize with notice of the unlawful fitting out of the capturing vessel, such prize should, upon due proof in the admiralty courts at the suit of the original owner of such prize or his agent, or of any person authorized in that behalf by the government of the state to which such owner belongs, be restored.

VII. That in time of war no vessel employed in the military or naval service of any belligerent which shall have been built, equipped, fitted out, armed, or dispatched contrary to the enactment, should be admitted into any port of Her Majesty's dominions.

In making the foregoing recommendations, we have felt ourselves bound to consider whether we were exceeding what could actually be required by international law, but we are of opinion that if those recommendations should be adopted, the municipal law of this realm available for the enforcement of neutrality will derive increased efficiency, and will, so far as we can see, have been brought into full conformity with Your Majesty's international obligations.

We have thought it better to present our recommendations in the